Drums of Doubt: On the Rhythmical Origins of Poetic and Scientific Exploration

Abstract

Abstract In his article “Drums of Doubt: On the Rhythmical Origins of Poetic and Scientific Exploration” Caius Dobrescu argues that even though the sciences and arts of doubt have never been connected to the notion of rhythm, doubt is a form of energy, and more specifically, a form of vibration. It implies an exploratory movement that constantly expands and recoils in a space essentially experienced as uncharted territory. Poetry acquires cognitive attributes through oscillatory rhythmic patterns that are explorative and adaptive. In order to test this hypothesis, the essay focuses on the nature and functioning of free verse. This modern prosodic mutation brings about a dovetailing of the rhythmic spectrum, but also, and more significantly, a change in the very manner of understanding and experiencing rhythm. Oscillatory rhythms are broadly associable with entrainment indexes that point to the adaptation of inner physiological and behavioral rhythms to oscillatory environment stimuli. Free verse emerges from the experience of regaining an original explorative, adaptive, and orientation-oriented condition of consciousness.